Replacement
by moxxii
Summary: Robin is off to Gotham for a while, and has brought in a temporary replacement. Its going to require a little getting used too. Some slight RobxStar. Takes place after Tokyo. First published fic. Please review! Criticism welcome!


Titans Tower. A huge, metal T-shaped building on a rocky island off the coast. It was the home to Jump City's ultimate heroes, the Teen Titans. They had saved the city hundreds of times, from demons to the every-day burglar The team might have not known it, but they were literally the talk of the town. People watched them, sat on the beach for their practises. They gossiped and swooned and had their crushes. The Titans were celebrities.

But gossip was the favourite subject of hard-core fans. When they saw villains attack, citizens ran, but that didn't stop them from wondering what happened. It had been quite popular these days to make up the wildest rumours; Things like Kid Flash was dating Raven, and they met in France every other night. Not believable, just a subject to twist and form into the next rumour.

So when one bright Saturday morning an unfamiliar, masked, blond-haired teen showed up at the Tower's steps, the city got talking. Who was this girl? Was it Terra? Was it a villain? Or maybe a long lost family member, an under-cover reporter, or no one in particular?

When Jump got talking, rumours spread like forest fire.

**TT**

Inside the Tower, the team was getting on with their regular morning activities. Raven was meditating in the corner, Starfire was making some horrible Tamaran dish she hoped to feed the team later and Cyborg was watching T.V. Beast Boy still was in his room, presumably sleeping in while only Robin was missing. He hadn't been seen all morning but frankly, no one was too worried yet. They all hoped to get out of morning practise.

Starfire was humming quietly while she cooked. She whisked back in forth from the table and fridge, taking out seemingly random items and throwing it in a comically large bowl. The team had gotten used to her odd food over the years. It didn't bother anyone but Beast Boy, who when she absolutely made them eat the dish was always scared it contained some kind of meat. He usually just picked around the stuff that looked like animal and gagged discreetly with everyone else.

And while Raven was fine by herself in the corner, lost wherever she went while meditating, Cyborg was growing slightly uncomfortable. Robin was almost always the first up, either practising or working out, and so far he had been unseen that morning. Cyborg had even checked the training room, but it had been empty and eerily quiet. Starfire usually paid attention to Robin's whereabouts, but she was so into her cooking that his absence was mostly left unnoticed to her. That left Cyborg to wonder.

Finally, he spoke. "Hey, anyone seen Robin yet?"

At his name, Starfire had perked up. "No, and I have also been doing the wondering at Robin's whereabouts. Do you know anything, friend Raven?"

Raven opened one eye. "No. Last I saw him was last night." She dead-panned.

They all remembered last night. Robin had been acting very odd. It seemed like he was avoiding something, and like he was worried. After almost a whole day in his room, he had come out for movie night. He had acted very un-Robin like. Starfire had noticed every one of her boyfriend's nervous actions, and it worried her greatly. Robin only acted like that in bad situations, and so the whole team was wondering what was coming, and what he knew that they didn't.

Cyborg turned his attention back to the T.V, but not for long. All he could think about was whether Robin's absence and last night were connected.

"Maybe we should look for him." He said doubtfully, getting up. Starfire had been thinking the same thing, and left her cooking to join Cyborg. Raven sighed. She didn't think anything was wrong, but pulled her hood down and joined them.

Before they could take another step towards the door, however, it slid open. They all looked toward the new person, ready to breath a sigh of relief, but instead of the jet-haired leader, Beast Boy sauntered it, looking ruffled and tired.

"Morning, dudes." He yawned, turning toward the kitchen, but immediately pivoting back at sight of Starfire's 'food'.

He turned toward them. He had been casually smiling, but started to frown at his friends' worried looks.

"Uh... guys? What's wrong?" He asked, now looking worried himself.

"Boyfriend Robin is always first awake." Starfire said. "But we have not yet seen him. Have you seen him this morning, friend?"

Beast Boy rubbed his chin, remembering. "Well, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I heard him talking to himself somewhere..."

"Talking to himself? Uh, are you sure about that, BB?" Cyborg asked him confusedly.

"Well... actually, I think I heard someone else too... Yeah! He was talking to someone!" Beast Boy momentarily looked proud at himself for remembering, then realized that that meant Robin was talking to some person in their house without the rest of the team knowing.

Before they had much time to digest that information, and start looking for him, the door slid open once again. And this time it was Robin that entered the room.

But he wasn't alone. Coming in close behind him was a girl. A pretty, blond-haired, skinny and older girl. Starfire felt a wave emotions, and struggled to keep them under wraps. She trusted Robin, and tried to tell herself that this wasn't what it looked like.

Both Robin and the girl looked nervous, Robin more so. He gave a slight smile, mostly directed towards Starfire, trying to calm her and put her worries to rest.

Then he spoke. "I, uh, have to tell you something, team."

It wasn't often that Robin talked nervously. Everyone's eyes were on the girl, however, wondering who the hell she was. Robin sighed, realizing that to get anywhere, he'd have to tell them the situation.

"Team, I'm leaving." All eyes snapped back to him, looking very shocked. There, the attention he needed. "Temporarily." He added, and a little of the tension and shock left the room. The unsteadiness and confusion was still there, however.

"Dude, who is this chick?" Beast Boy asked, staring at the girl. She smiled sidelong.

"This is Stephanie Brown." The leader said, finally introducing the mystery girl. "And while I'm in Gotham, she will be my replacement."


End file.
